Pranav Kannan
Transfer News: Arsenal join Manchester United in the race for Vitinha
According to the Record (h/t Mirror), Arsenal are set to join Manchester United in the race for talented Portuguese midfielder Vitinha from Porto this summer.
Having joined the Portuguese giants in 2013, Vitinha progressed through the youth ranks at Porto before breakinginto the first team in 2020. The talented midfielder played a season out on loan at Wolverhampton Wanderers before returning to Porto for the 2021/22 campaign.
The 22-year-old has impressed one and all with his performances for the Portuguese club this season gathering interest from much of the elite in Europe. The 22-year-old has played 47 times for Sergio Conceicao’s side scoring four goals and providing five assists across all competitions.
Man United were said to be keen on pursuing a deal for the player ahead of next season but it has now emerged that fellow Premier League club Arsenal are willing to trigger Vitinha’s £35m release clause.
A necessity?
Manchester United need a midfield rebuild ahead of next season with Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata all leaving the club ahead of next season.
This leaves us with just Fred and Scott Mctominay as senior options in midfield and although Bruno Fernandes could be considered a midfielder, he tends to play further up the pitch. Donny van de Beek is expected to return from his loan spell and could play a prominent role next season.
Regardless, having just three midfielders going into next season definitely does not feel like the right choice and we will have to invest heavily in this area. One player who offers us a very good option in terms of quality, potential and money is Vitinha.
The Portuguese midfielder is just 22-years-old and has his entire career in front of him. If his performances for Porto this season are anything to go by, he has all the abilities required to make it big in a Erik ten Hag midfield.
At £35m, Vitinha is definitely not the costliest player available and given his age and potential, could develop into a very shrewd signing. Erik ten Hag for his part knows how to develop youngsters into world class players as we have seen during his time at Ajax and the Porto man could benefit from it.
It is no secret that Manchester United are interested in signing Frenkie de Jong ahead of the summer. Whilst signing the Dutchman has its own advantages, maybe a player like Vitinha under ten Hag could be developed into the next de Jong.
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It makes sense for Manchester United to sign Frenkie de Jong on all counts. However, it is also in our interests to stop Arsenal from pipping us to Vitinha.
